Apparatus for refining petroleum.



R. G. JONES.

APPARATUS FOR REFINING PETROLEU APPLICATION FILED DELH. 1913.

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

M .w m... w.. f.- will... n.

w... .Wwwwm ,mw m N -MMHM l qm2. www.

I lt

APPARATUS FOR REFINING PETROLEUM.

Application led December 11. 1913.

To all ywlw/n 'it nz (1.1/ concern Be it known that I, RICHARD GIRARD J ONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have inventgd a new and useful Apparatus for Refining Petroleum, of which the following is a specification.

rllhis invention has relation to a process not herein claimed and apparatus for ob taining various distilled products from petroleum and other oils, materials and substances; its purposes being the provision of an improved apparatus of new and novel construction and arrangement of parts having greater heating and evaporating surface than a still of corresponding size; other purposes being to accomplish the desired results with a minimum expenditure of time, labor, material, and heating fuel; the employment of a minimum amount of apparatus for the amount of material or substance distilled, and the provision of apparatus, the co-mponent parts of which may be readily removed for repair or renewal, and the provision of apparatus which shall perform a maximum number of the functions in the process of distillation, effect the transfer and removal of the residue from the vaporizing part of the apparatus, and el'fectthe efficient condensation of the vapors into commercial products. ln attaining these purposes, the invention is more particularly directed to a refining apparatus in which a battery or stackof closed flat vaporizing pans or chambers or retorts is employed to apply heat to the oil or other material to be treated, the pans being formed to present a large heating area and a large evaporating surface to the contained oil or other material; the pans being arranged in superposition, one above another, above the heat source or heating flame; thus causing said oil or other material to be vaporized with successively increasing temperatures from top to bottom of the stack, and yielding various distillate products in accordance with the position or nearness of the vaporizing pan to the flame or heating source, means being provided for finally condensing the vapors.

ln order to fully understand the great advantages of the present apparatus over devices of this character heretofore invented. it should be borne in mind that in the separa- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec.. 2%, lttlf.

serial no. 806,106.

f gravities are drawn off separately into separate condensers were made cylindrical so that With a given volume of oil in a retort the evaporating surface was of comparatively small area so that the lighter heated hydrocarbons rising upward from the heated bottom ofthe retort through the cooler hydrocarbons above were saturated with the heavier hydrocarbons and carried said heavier hydrocarbons over into the condenser, thus producing a low grade of the hydrocarbon passed over from said retort; also, in order to heat the surface oil in the lower retort sufficiently to vaporize the heavierhydrocarbons in it, it was necessary to heat the oil at the bottom of said lower retort to a much higher degree than the oil at the surface because the heavy vapors, requiring approximately 600' Fahrenheit to drive them off, eX- tracted a large amount of heat from the oil and the temperatures above 600 Fahrenheit of the oil at the bottom naturally caused cracking and carbonizing of the heavier hydrocarbons near the bottom of the lower retort.

F rom the foregoing it is seen that with apparatus heretofore invented comparatively poor grades of hydrocarbons of both high gravity and low gravity were produced.

An object of this invention is the production of a device of this character in which the oil in any given retort will be of substantially uniform temperature throughout so as to avoid the high temperatures that cause cracking and carbonizing of the hydrocarbons desirable for lubricating oils. I

To heat the oil uniformly and at the same time avoid the necessity of very high temperatures to drive olf the vapors of the heavier hydrocarbons, l provide novel closed pans, chambers or retorts which are perfectly flat so that the oil charge therein is of uniform 'depth from side to side and from end to end ofthepannandyin fact forms a. thin iilm of oil; saidpans having-one or more inlets and outlets to keep oil flowing over t-he bottom of the pan so that the |heat applied to the pan will heat the oil uniformly from side to side and end to end of the pan and also from the surface of the oil to the bottom of the pan. Another advantage of this construction is that not only will .the heavier hydrocarbons not be carried over by the vapors of the lighter hydrocarbons but substantially all of the hydrocarbon of a particular gravity will pass over from a retort of a given temperature.

The heaviest series of the hydrocarbons are treated with sulfurip acid to remove therefrom the so-termed sludge or tar and from the foregoing it is seen that owing to the lower temperatures employed in conjunction with flat retorts, the amount of such sludge or tar necessary to be removed from the heavier hydrocarbons produced by my apparatus Will be of comparatively small volume, thus economizing greatly inl the amount of sulfuric acid used in treating said hydrocarbons.

The principles herein related may be employed through and embodied into any suitable form, and therefore, for the purpose of explanation, a preferred arrangement, with the proper correlative parts, is shown in they accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a heating structure and a series of condensers, incorporating the principles of this invention, with parts broken away to show details, the view disclosing approximately the relative positions of the component parts and the connecting and communicating means by which the apparatus may perform the functions necessary for distillation. Fig. 2 is a detail plan view in section through the uppermost of the vaporizing pans, the inlet end of the pan being in section on a plane passing horizontally through the inlet, and the opposite end of the pan being a section on a horizontal plane passing through the vapor outlet of said pan. Fig. 3 is a view of the heating structure, partly in vertical section. Part of the condensing system is also shown. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic elevation of the operating parts of the apparatus, further illustratling the circulation of the crude oil or other material, the progress of the vaporous bodies produced during the process of distillation, and the disposition of the condensed products of distillation.

Vhile simple and eflici'ent means are herein provided for accomplishing the objects of the invention and the elements shown and described are well adapted to serve the purposes for which they are intended, it is to be understood that no limitation is made to the precise structural details exhibited in the drawings, but that changes, alterations and modifications may be resorted to without departing i'rom the principles of the invention, or sacrificing any of the advantages claimed,

y the invention being herein shown and dcscribed as particularly designed for obtaining distilled products from petroleum oils, but may be utilized for various analogous purposes and in various analogous ways, involving the novel method herein set forth. Throughout the several illustrations like reference characters apply to like parts.

Assuming the apparatus to be embodied as illustrated, the heating structure or stack 1, preferably of brick, substantially rectangular in form, is composed of side walls 9. and end walls 3, and is provided with a sheet metal hood 4 with a vent 5 therein, and has a contracted space in the lower part forming a combustion chamber 6 extending longitudinally through the structure and a heat distributer 7 which is foraminous and may be constructed of a wire screen arched within said chamber and resting upon ledges 8.

An opening 9 is further provided for the in` troduction of heating means, and an opening 10 through which screen 7 may be inserted and withdrawn, said opening 10 being provided with a closure 10.

The upper part of stack`1 forms a conduit for the products of combustion, and a series of openings 11, normally closed by doors 12,

are provided for the removal of soot resulting from incomplete combustion. Should it be found necessary to remove and replace a-pan, a section of the side wall may he torn out for access to the interior of the structure, and channel irons 13 are provided, the same extending longitudinally through said walls to support the remaining upper portions of wall when an under section or sections has or havelbeen removed.

The lower part of the structure comprising the combustion chamber is preferably lined with fire brick '14, which may therefore be renewed if desired without interfering with the structure as a whole. Steel or iron ledges 15 extending through the length of the end walls and projecting inwardly therefrom, support the vaporizing part of the apparatus within said structure and above the fire box or initial combustion chamber 6.

A closed conduit for, the oil, substance or material to be distilled consists of a series I of closed flat wedge-shaped evaporating or vaporizing pans, chambers or retorts 16,(lisposed in the upper part of the structure 1, in superposed and staggered position relatively to one another, and above the combustion I chamber 6; ,said pans having taller vertical sides 17 and shorter curved or semi-cylindrical side walls 18; the vertical sides Fig. 2 abutting in alternation against the opposite side walls 2 of the housing 1 and the semimeeste cylindrical sides 18 being spaced from the walls adjacent thereto respectively tozpermit the passage of heated air and the products of combustion betweenthe semi-cylindrical sides and the walls alternately to reach the next upper pan; the heated air passing in succession therebetween and also horizontally between adjacent pans; a continuous sinuous passage being thus formed for the products of combustion from the lowermost to the uppermost of said series of pans, by which the application of heat thereto in successively diminishing temperatures from the lowerinost to the uppermost pan is attained, and vaporous bodies are produced in said pans, the uppermost pan having the lowest evaporating point and the lowermost pan the highest. I

llach of the evaporating pans 16 has an inlet 1f) midway between the side walls 17, 1o provided with a perforated tube 20 eX- tending transversely across the inlet end of the pan for distributing the oil orl other material within the pan. Each pan is provided in its bottom with an outlet 21, and a pipe conduit 22 connects the outlet of each pan` except the lowermost with the inlet of the next successive lower pan. A continuous conduit for the crude oil or other material thereforeexists within the upper part of the structure l, comprising the vapori ing pans and communicating conduits extending between said pans.

Each of the conduits extends from the outlet of the corresponding pan through the adjacent end wall 3, thence back through the wall and between said pans and through the opposite endwall 3, thence' returning into the inlet of the successive lower pan. Ledges 15 in the wall are higher adjacent to the inlet end of said pan than adjacent, the opposite end wall thereby supporting said pans in a slightly inclined positirn. say about one inch in twelve feet. The fore-l going construction thus forms a gravity heater or still in which heat from the combustion chamber (i will be applied tol the pans or receptacles 16 in the most ei'iicacious manner so as to heat cach pan uniform-ly over its entire bottom and so as to utilize the maximum number of calories generated in thecon'ibustion chamber. 'lhe oil or other material to be vaporized will therefore pass by gravity freely and continuously through the vaporizing portion of the apparatus and no agitators are required. A conduit Q?) extends from the bottom of the lowermost pan to a series of cooling tubes Q1 arranged with inclined axes, the tubes being intercommunicating through pipes 25 and the lowermost tube having a delivery pipe QG. The pans 16 are supplied with crude oil or other material through a supply conduit 2T, extending from pump 2S to and opening into the inlet 19 of the uppermost of said pans; and each of said pans is provided with a delivery conduit 29 extending from the out-let'QQ at the top of said pans respectively, to carri7 the vaporous bodies produced therein to a series of inclined condensers formed by jackets 30 corresponding in number with said pans, each pan being individually' connected with a condenser jacket. The vapors produced in each pan therefore remain separate and distinct from those produced in the others and the condensed products are withdrawn through tubes 31 at the lower ends of the condensers.

The main supply conduit is branched and the branch 27 is sinuous having substantially horizontal straight limbs 2T and elbows 2T. and extends through said series of condensers from top to bottom, there being in each jacket 30 a limb :27' coaxial with such jacket, the crude oil or other material therefore acting as a condensing agent and also becoming gradualhy h ated before it enters that part or section E Fig. 1 of said conduit through the branch or limb 27 extending through the lower series of heating jacketsll` in, which it is further heated preparatory to entering the pans 16. The supply pipe is thus constructed with descending and ascending sections so that the oil will pass downward through the descending seetion D and up through the ascending section ll tobe gradually heated therein. To assist in condensation` a perforated water distributer is mountedover said condensers. which are thereby cooled by water and also air, the condensers being arranged in parallel. superposed position, re ative one to another, a trough 33 beneath the condenser-s receiving and conducting the water away. I have arranged valves 31 to close that part ot conduit 27 passing through said condensers 30. so that upon opening 'alve and connecting pump 2S with a tank T or t containing the raw material I may quickly till pans 1G prepaiatorily to vaporizing the crude oil or other material and thus prevent the burning out of the pans while raising the temperature to the desired vaporizing point. Pump 28 has valve controlled suction pipes 3G and 37. extending respectively to a supply of crude oil or other material and a supply of residue as indicated at T and t.

A fuel burner 38 is arranged within the combustion chamber and is adapted to burn crude oil or 'other material for fuel, and a steam generator 3S) heated by said burner, furnishes steam if so desired for the operation of the burner and for assisting in removing vapors from pans 1G and carrying said vapors to the condensers. To accomplish this latter result, a steam pipe 40 extends from the generator 39 to'a series of valve controlled branch pipes Jfl. each of which enters a vaporizing pan through the inlet end, said pipes 11 extending through the distributing tubes 2O and discharging into said pans. A thermometer 42 on conduit 23 indicates the approximate temperature of the residue from the vaporizing pans and consequently of the lower pan.

In practical operation and referring more lati-ticulai'ly to Fig. i, before the pans 16 are heated. the valve 3l will be closed and the valve 35 together with the valve on the suction pipe 36 will be opened and the pump 28 will be operated to draw the contents of the tank T through the suction pipe and force said contents through the ascending conduit section E and through the pipe 27 to the inlet 19 of the top pan 16. The

-crude oil or other material is thus at the outset pumped directly through the ascending section l to the distributer 20 in the uppermost pan whence it is distributed evenly across the upper end of the lower floor of said pan where it lows through outlet 21 into pipe 22, thence down to the distributer 2() of the next lower evaporating pan and along the floor of said next lower pan to the outlet leading to the next lower pipe .22 and soon through all the pans to the lowermost one, whereupon the burner 3S is started into operation, the heat therefrom being distributed by the heat distributer T and directed to the bottom of the lowermost pan, thence around the semicylindrical or rounded side 18 thereof and onto the bottom of the next upper pan across and around the semi-cylindrical side thereof and so on from pan to pan to the top of the stack or housing 1, whence theheated air finds exit-by vent '5, evaporation then beginning in lall the pans and the vapors that pass ott' lowingout through outlets 2() and thence down to the respective condensers 30. l when the oil or other material shows the proper temperature at thermometer 4'2 then the valve will be closed and valve 3i opened. so that the crudeoil or other material will pass up the supply pipe 27 and thence downward by way of the straight limbs 2T in the descending section l) to gradually heat the oil following .in said limbs and also to cool vthe vapors in the condenser jackets 30, and the liquefied product of distillation flows from the condensers 30 at the end most remote from the vapor pipes 2S), through pipes 31.

The temperature at which the st iam may be applied will be varied to suit different conditions and in some cases the use of.

steam may be omitted entirely by shutting the main steam valve 43, but when it is desired that the method be carried on by the use of steam. the main steam valve will be openedthus admitting steam through the perforations of the tubes 2O to the pans16. It is understood that the conditions are varied in various cases and the oil treated may contain water to such an extent that no steam added from steam pipe 40 may be desired and in that case the steam will be cut otf entirely. In other instances it nay be found advisable to shut ott' steam from the uppermost pans and supply steam to the lower pans only. This may be effected by separately closing and opening the valves of the pipes l1. The purpose of the steam is to carry hydrocarbon vapors to the condensers and the separation between the hydrocarbon product and the water condensation will take place after the liquid has flowed through the supply pipes therein, .it being understood that pipes 31 lead to tanks, not shown, where the final separation of water and hydrocarbon is eliected in the usual way.

From the foregoing description in connection with the drawings, it may be readily understood that I have produced a distilling apparatus which will handle large quantities of crude oil or other material, or substances with economy in operating, and time.

The parts are accessible for the purpose ofv cleaning and renewal. The tops of the vaporizing pans may be, scraped to clean them from soot or other deposits through doors in the side walls. The pans may be disconnected for removal and the combustion chamber may be reliued with fire brick without disturbing the balance of the structure. My apparatus requires no agitators to hasten the evaporation.

It is noted that in practical operation when the distillation process is first started the valve 4l will preferably be opened and also the valve on the suction pipe 3T so as to drain oil from the lower conduit section E until the valporization of oil in thev pans 16 takes place so that circulation of the oil may be established without running said oil through the condensers 30, thus preventing undue heating of said condensers while starting the process of distillation. After vaporization takes place and the condensers 30 come into action to cool the vapors and to heat the oil in the condenser tubes Q7', the valve 44 will be closed and, as before stated, the valve 34. will also be closed. and the valve 35 together with the. valve on the suction pipe 36 will be opened so as to cause circulation of the oil to take place through the.con denser. Then vaporization begins as indicated by the thermometer 42, valve 44 wili be closed and the valve 45 will be opened so as to direct residue from the apparatus to a tank, not shown.

The rounded edges of the pans facilitate the upward iiow of the heated products of combustion and in order to apply the heat most effectively to the contents of the pans the bottoms b thereof are straight and fiat and their transverse sections are horizontal nissart while the tops or covers c ot said pans slope upwardly from the rounded to the vertical side of the pan and toward the passages between the next upper pan and the side wall so that heat is reflected back and forth trom the bottom of each successive pan to the top ot' the pan therebeneath and so on from bottom totop of the stack, thus not only directly heating the liquids on the doors of the pans but also the vapors above such liquids.

lFrom the foregoing detailed construction it is clear that alternate pans 16 have one side abutting one of the side walls of the stack 1 and also the opposite side spaced from said stack and the other pans between said alternate pans have abutting and spaced apart sides the reverse of said alternate pans and that the bottoms of said pans are substantially level and the tops of said pans are aslant upward toward the abutting sides of the pans and are spaced from the bottoms of adjacent pansto form passages having expanded inlets and contracted outlets at the spaced apart sides ot the pans so that heated gases from the combustion chamber 6 will be applied uniformly to the bottoms of the pans and so that said gases will not flow too rapidly through the spaces between adjacent pans.

I am aware that portions of the., method hereinbefore outlined are not new in the art but, nevertheless, it is le-ar that my method includes certain new steps which are of great advantage in the art, though possibly of minor importa-nce relative to the fundamental steps in the process.

ll claim 1. A. refining apparatus comprising a stack having a combustion chamber at its lower end, lat pans spaced apart one above another in staggered relation, alternate pans fitting against oneA side of the sta-ck and spaced apart trom the opposite side, and the other pans between said alternate' pans being spaced apart from said one side and titting against'said opposite side, the spaces between adjacent pans and between the pan ends and stack sides forming a sinuous passage from the combustionchamber to the top of the stack, means to vsupply oil to the pans, and means to draw od'vapors tromsaid pans.

2.y A refining apparatus comprising superposed receptacles connected lone to another, meansyto progressively hea-t said receptacles from the higher to the lower receptacle, condenser ,jacketsv at' different levels connected itc-they receptacles yin the order of their levels relativeitothe levels' of the receptacles, a mainsupplypipe having a branch connected to the upper-' receptacle and having another branch passing through the condenser jackets progressively from the upper to the lower condenser and connected to the first branch, valves on the branches at their junction with the main pipe, and a valve o-n the condenser branch at its junction with the first branch.

3. A refining apparatus comprising superposed receptacles connected one to another, means' to progressively heat said receptacles from the higher to the lower receptacle, a condenser jacket for each receptacle and connected thereto, cooling tubes connected one to another and to the lower receptacle, a mainl supply pipe having a branch passing through the cooling tubes and connected to the upper receptacle and said main pipe having another branch passing through the condenser jackets and connected to the first branch, valves on the branches at their junction with the main pipe, and a valve on thecondenser branch at its junction with the first branch.

4. A refining apparatus comprising superposed receptacles connected one to another, means to progressively heat said receptacles from the higher to the lower receptacle, `a condenser jacket for each receptacle and connected, thereto, a main supply pipe having a branch connected to the upper receptacle and having another branch passing through the condenser jackets and connected to the first branch, valves on the branches at their junction with the main pipe, a valve on the condenser branch at its junction with the first branch, a4 tank connected to the main pipe, cooling tubes connected to one another and to the lower receptacle, a second pipe connecting the cooling tubes to the tank, and a. valve on said second pipe.

5. A refining apparatus comprising superposed receptacles connected one to another, means to progressively heat said receptacles from the higher to the lower receptacle, a condenser jacket for each receptacle and connected thereto, a main'supply pipe having a branch connected to the upper receptacle and having another branch passing through the condenser jackets and connected to the first branch, valves on the branches at their junction with the main pipe, a valve on the condenser branch at its junction with the first branch, two tanks, a pump on the main pipe, a suctionpipe leading from each of said tubes to the pump, a valve on each suction pipe, and a discharge tube connecting one of said tubes to 'the lower receptacle and providedwith a valve, said discharge tube having a branch provided with a valve.

6. A refining apparatus comprising a stack having a combustion chamber at its lower end, Hat pans spaced apart one' above another in staggered relation, each of, said pans being rounded at one side and flat at the opposite side, and adjacent pans havlng their rounded sides spaced apart from opposite walls of the stack and having their flat sides abutting said walls, means to supply oil to the pans, and means to draw olf vapors from said pans.

7. 'A refining apparatus comprising a stack having a combustion chamber at its lower end, Hat pans one above another in staggered relation, alternate pans having one side abutting one ofthe side walls of the stack and having the opposite side spaced from said walls and the other pans between said alternate pans having abutting and spaced apart sides the reverse of saidalternate pans, the bottoms of said pans being substantially level and the tops of said pans being aslant upward toward the abutting sides of the pans and spaced apart from the bottoms of adjacent pans to form passages having expanded inlets and contracted outlets at the spaced apart sides of the pans, means to supply liquid to the pans, and means to draw oft1 vapors from said pans.

8. A refining apparatus comprising a stack having a combustion chamber in its lower end, pans one above another spaced apart from one another in the stack and spaced apart at alternate sides from the sides of the stack to form a sinuous passage. and a foraminous member between said sinuous passage and combustion chamber and forming the top of said chamber to spread the heated gases evenly over the entire cross sectional area of thc stack.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto s'et my hand at Los Angeles, California this 4th day of December, 1913.

R. GIRARD JONES.

- In presence oit- JAMES R. TowNsEND, F. M. KEENEY. 

